Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for the production of high purity silicon by the use of an electric arc heater and, more particularly, it pertains to a reaction chamber in which a silicon halide is reacted with an alkali or alkaline-earth metal, the products of which are phase separated.
Description of the Prior Art
Prior processes for the production of high purity silicon are generally characterized by high costs and low capacity. One method for producing high purity silicon involves the following steps: (1) carbothermically reducing silica to metallurgical silicon, (2) converting the metallurgical silicon to an intermediate compound such as SiHCl.sub.3, (3) purifying the intermediate compound, and (4) decomposing the intermediate compound to silicon.
Silicon produced by this process is very costly and, thus, economically unsuitable for use in many applications and, in particular, in solar electric power generation devices.